Magic Mirror
by Lorena Soul
Summary: Ember and her friend Ashley take an unexpected trip to Paris. Good-bye America! Hello...Erik?
1. Prolouge

Devoted, obsessed, possessed call it what you will. The bottom line is that I was a Phan. That's right I was the model Phan, totally loyal almost to a frightening point. I lived phantom, I breathed phantom and somehow it still wasn't enough. I had every piece of memorabilia I could find, including a Susan Kay first edition. Yep I was hooked, funny thing was how I got hooked.

Ah, memories... seems like only yesterday I was sitting at the front of Mrs. Riley's eighth grade class willing time away while she read from a dog-eared copy of Phantom of the Opera monotonously. Boring... I rolled my eyes as she turned her page and cleared her throat to begin another paragraph. Before this year all I had seen about phantom was spoofs on local cartoon shows where a masked character would be playing an organ. Had I read the book by myself, I probably would have loved it.

No such luck. Now I was sitting with a packet of work half an inch thick to be completed as we read the book. Somehow that took all the fun out of it. I looked around the the class room Jessie and Ashley, my best friends, seemed to be as bored, if not more bored than me. Jessie had just completed her fifth paperclip necklace and Ashley was in the process of drawing a picture of Mrs. Riley being bit into two by a green dragon. On the other side of the room the other teacher yawned and seemed to be as bored as we were. I had to wonder if she were drawing any pictures like Ashley's

"Two teachers in the same room?" You say. Hold on let me explain. We were the subjects of a weird test program, guinea pigs you might say. The school district was doing an experiment on us, merging two classes together, purpose unknown. As far as we could tell the people in charge, whoever they are, must have gotten bored one day and out of hours discussion, and, it is rumored, more than one bottle of Jack Daniels, came this freak accident of a class. Never trusted the school district any way.

Finally the bell rang and we were free!... only to come back the next day to continue our torture. After a while we came to discover that the other teacher was a true Phan. She had brought posters and programs and a T-shirt to school in an effort to make us excited about the book. One thing I can say about that teacher she had a passion for her work and she liked to teach. She passed around a program and still I wasn't impressed. Then one day I walked into the class room to hear the end of Music of the Night emanating from her radio. Suddenly Phantom was all that I could think of. I asked my dad to buy me the forty dollar CD my teacher had played for our class. I attacked the Internet searching for sites only to discover there was a world of information out there. Funny. Had that teacher decided not to bring that CD to school I probably would have finished my worksheets and never looked back. I am forever in debt to her.


	2. Oh great a gift

Five years later... I lived in a Arlington Texas. A suburb of Dallas? Hardly. Arlington has a life all of its own if one has the patience to look for it. True, its not so flashy as Dallas but it has its charm. I lived in a rented house near UTA (university of Texas in Arlington). What can I say, the trees there are beautiful, alone with my dog Erik. So named because of a peculiar white "mask" on the right side of his otherwise black face. Coincidence, I think not. Other than Erik, I had my little sister to visit from time to time so I kept an extra room for her. Of course it was decorated to her liking complete with n'sync poster and pink bedspread. Not exactly something I would have in my bedroom but I had given my word that she could decorate it any way she wanted. Personally I think she took advantage of my generosity.

Now on to my friends. Our group consisted of Ashley, Jessie and me. First off Jessie. Ah Jessie what can you say about her? Nicknamed the "queen bee" for the obvious reason that wherever she goes she seems to naturally attract people to her. As her best friend, I kind of use this to my advantage, meeting new people through her. She's the party animal in our group, always ready to have a good time.

And then there's Ashley. Ashley is an Actress...need I say more? Ok Ashley stop hitting me and I'll elaborate! Sheesh! Are they all like this? Ashley is an award winning actress/poet and proud of it! She can be quite cocky at times. Ouch! On stage I mean. She has a good sense of humor, good enough to get my jokes. And although she doesn't share my passion for phantom, she understands and respects it. (Don't worry guys I'm working on getting her hooked.) Both Ashley and Jessie played a part in my story so just bare with me. P.S. If I say "ouch" at any point in this story it is probably because I have offended the great and powerful Ashley.

It was a day like any other, Ashley and I were out in our garden. Ashley was tending to the flowers while I was adjusting the new gazing ball. Meanwhile Jessie was in the house talking on the phone to her boyfriend. " There." I said sounding very satisfied with myself. Ashley looked up from the forget-me-nots she was planting. She nodded her approval before wiping her nose with the back of her hand a leaving a very noticeable smudge of dirt. I bit my lower lip trying not to laugh. " Come on Ash, I think its time for a break."

"Ok."

We walked in through the back door and headed for the fridge to fetch some goodies. " Who's up for a heart attack?" I asked as I rummaged through the fridge avoiding the various " good for you foods" and heading straight for the junk food. Jessie must have heard me announce food because when I had come up for breath she was standing beside Ashley. "I see somebody has finally decided to grace us with her presence." I said jokingly as I set the junk food out on the counter.

" Na, I just heard someone say something about food."

I rolled my eyes at her and gave her a snickers bar and a Dr. pepper.

We were about halfway through our meal, if you can call it that, when the doorbell rang. Nobody moved and it rang again. Ashley and me looked at Jessie expectantly. " All right I'll get it!" she yelled as she got up and made for the door. " Ember, delivery for you!" she yelled at me not bothering to come back from the door. Hmm the UPS guy must have been cute. I sighed and got up to head for the door. It was probably just another "care package" from my grandma. She had been traveling the world recently and sent me the occasional postcard and stuff she thought I needed to survive. I signed for the package and left it in the front hall, if it was one of her care packages it could wait.

"Dinner" continued with the usual conversation that came with it. Stupid stuff to everyone else but to us it was just normal topics.

"Ya, so I heard this new coffee shop was opening up on cooper st. Zombie coffee I think it was. It sounds cool we have to go there. Oh, and the new Potter book is out we got to go get it." After dinner it was on to the living room to watch the Simpsons. Quality television. While we were enjoying one of Homers classic slip ups my package was still waiting for me by the door. Ashley and I said goodbye to Jessie, she lived down the street but she had a date that night, and started to get ready for bed. Ashley was staying with that night me, as was tradition for us every Friday night. It was just a reason to take a break from everything.

We played a few games of super smash bros. on the 64. I had to beat her a few times with Link before she finally yielded and admitted that he was better than Yoshi. Ouch! Long live Link the champion! Ouch!

Around the fiftieth match I looked at the clock. Twelve o'clock. "Snack time!" I announced throwing the controller to the floor, not before pausing the game, and heading for the kitchen. "I though we weren't supposed to feed you after midnight." Ashley said following me to the fridge. " Ha ha, very funny." Halfway to the kitchen I caught a glance of the package I had gotten earlier. Realizing I had not opened it yet, I told Ashley to go ahead without me while I took a look at it. I walked over to the box and finally noticed how big it was. Had it been standing upright it would have been six feet tall and about two and a half feet wide. I opened the top of the box with my keys and took out the post card she always sent with her packages. It was a picture of the Paris Opera house. She must be in Paris and she knew how much I loved Phantom.

Dear Ember,  
Its me in Paris. The people here are so nice. I love partaking in the "people watching" here at the local cafe. One thing I have noticed about the people is that no one wears tennis shoes. Just a funny thought. I visited the opera house as you have probably guessed. Besides this postcard I sent you a few pictures. If you haven't got them yet you should get them soon. I hope you enjoy this little present. I went antiquing and I had to have it for you. I wish you were here with me.   
love,  
Grandma

No tennis shoes? My Grandma was an odd one. Rumor had it that she had been a biker chick when she had been younger. I had pictures of her on her old Harley Davidson, very cool. Her care packages were full of fluffy pink things that usually ended up in my little sisters hands, but this wasn't a care package...it was a present! How does one describe her presents? Odd, intriguing, unique maybe. No matter, I knew that nothing normal come out of that package and I tore at it with excitement. What could it be, what could it be!. An authentic painting from a real life French artist who might be famous one day...when he died, or a antique hand-woven rug. Ha! Knowing her it was probably a piece of the opera house itself. I wouldn't be surprised.  
Finally the wrapping was off. The moment of truth. And there, on the ground, surrounded by the brown paper wrapping was a...mirror.

A mirror? It was surrounded by a silver frame made of tiny metal vines. Bunches of grapes hung from the vines and birds swooped downed on them with a metallic gleam in their eyes. I cocked my head to one side and lifted a brow. Well it was beautiful, It was just that it was so...so...normal... I shrugged my shoulders. Ah well, at least it wasn't alive...or something... You could lose a limb from one of my grandma's presents.

Ashley had crept up behind me. "Oh that's pretty Ember. Another present from your crazy Grandma? I'm surprised the birds don't come to life and peck our eyes out." She said looking over my shoulder. I turned to look at her. "How do you manage to carry all that food!" She shrugged and walked into the living room laden with Dr. Peppers, chips, dip, cookies, popcorn...Ouch! She's hitting me again! And I think I spied a tub of ice cream too. What do you mean Ash, Ouch! It was too that much food! I did not eat most of it! Sheesh...aaannnyway...  
The games, and the feast of junk food for that matter, continued long into the night. We got tired of Super Smash Bros. pretty soon so we popped in Wrestlemania. Ah...Wrestling...now there's a sport... Great now your going to stop reading, just shut your computer off and say, "Man what a hick! Wrestling...honestly!" Hold on a minute. Most people who say that have never actually seen a wrestling show. Is it staged? Yes. Do the wrestlers have bad acting skills? Absolutely! But, it does have a plot I assure you. Love, hatred, alliances, betrayal, excitement, all the things that make life interesting all rolled into one two hour special of long haired men and silicon stuffed women. And the best part of the whole thing: Kane. Kane is the seven foot "big red machine". He can take on almost any of the other wrestlers, he's strong, he doesn't listen to anybody, and the best part in my opinion, he seems to be modeled totally after Erik. Kane's character has mismatched eyes, his face was burned and permanently scarred in a fire when he was younger, he wears a mask to hide those scars, his family loathes him, he's had his share of tragic betrayals by women, and he's been titled as a monster and a freak. Very Erik-like.

Ashley finally won a round and we decided it was time to go to bed. It was late and we had to prepare for Saturday. Sure we lived like genuine geeks on Friday, but Saturday was the day to party!

I set up the mirror so that it faced my bed. Had I been a superstitious person, I never would have done that, it was considered bad luck. But I wasn't, so I did. Superstitions, blah! Couldn't scare me with all that voodoo nonsense, not then not ever.

I yawned and drew back the blankets on my bed. I was hoping it wouldn't be that cold in there that night...I hated the cold. The pillow was soft against my cheek and soon enough I was fast asleep.

And then came the dream. The beautiful dream. I dreamed that I had woken up to find Erik in my room singing to me. Beckoning me to rise and follow him. I swooned at the sound of his voice and before I knew it I was lifting the blankets and standing in front of him. He beckoned me, willing me to follow him. Where? I asked him silently. No answer, just music, in his voice, his eyes, his movement. And he moved toward the mirror and I followed him, arms outstretched, fingers just brushing his fingertips. I followed him, and he seemed to pass through the wall into another world. A world of fog and tiny lights, a Paris street. And I realized that he had gone through the mirror. I tried to follow him but I touched only glass. And as I bumped my forehead on the glass his voice stopped and he seemed to grow fainter and fade away till I saw my self in the polished mirror. My reflection and I could see tears in my eyes and I hated it. I hated that he had led me on and then left me here, and I pounded my fists into the mirror. I pounded and pounded until finally the glass broke and shattered. Pieces of mirror went flying all over my room, reflecting a hundred rooms, and all of them my own, not the Parisian street I wished they were.


	3. Masquerade! What? We're leaving already?

I woke up to the sound of Ashley rocking out in the living room. I turned to face the clock on my night stand. It was just barely the crack of noon. I made a sound of frustration but got out of bed and went to my closet to pick out something to wear. I had forgotten the dream but as I looked at the mirror it all came flooding back. "Whoa, weird." I said and then shrugged my shoulders. After all it was just a dream.

I picked out of my closet a pair of Mudd brand jeans and a shiny blue shirt. Blue had to be one of my favorite colors. Well that and black. I caught a shower singing shower tunes through the whole thing. Today was going to be a good day I could feel it and I sang Masquerade to the soap bar. I think I must have gone through every song in the musical plus a few from Jekyll and Hyde before I finally got out and got dressed.

And who should I meet right outside the bathroom door but Ashley.  
"Nice singing man." she said. I stuck my tongue out at her and went to the kitchen to get a healthy breakfast, Dr. pepper and a Hotpocket.

After breakfast we hoped into her car and headed to the mall. We still had a few hours before our main event tonight and so it was time to shop. We headed down to the music store to check out the CDs. Nothing good, well nothing good enough to be worth the thirty dollars they wanted to charge for it. We roamed the mall for a while. I got about five bags of clothes and Ash outdid me with seven. It was just about time for the main event so we headed back home to change.

Tonight was the masquerade. It was held about once every month give or take a day and it was something I looked forward to. It was one of the few times I could wear a cloak and not feel stupid.

When we arrived the party had already started. Every where people were in their sparkling costumes. The girls swirled in their dresses and the guys bowed in their suits. Everyone wore a mask. The whole room was a blur of blues and purples, reds and greens. I wore a dress and cloak with a hood. My mask was blue with purple glitter and I wore it so that it just covered my eyes. Ashley was dressed all in blue with a long blue cloak and a blue mask with silver stars. I wondered if we would see anybody we knew.

Of course we wouldn't know for sure until the end of the night when it was tradition for everyone to take off their masks and reveal their true identity. Me and Ash separated to look for dancing partners. Ash hooked up with a guy in a blue mask and black hair. I ended up with a guy in a black mask with long dark hair that fell to his shoulders. He took my hand and we smiled at each other. The hired band struck up a slow song and we danced under blue lights. Slowly we spun and I caught sight of Ashley enjoying herself with her own Romeo. My partner twirled me and I caught something swirling black out of the corner of my eye. When I looked again it was nothing.

I shrugged it off and kept dancing enjoying myself. I leaned in close and put my head on his shoulder dancing slowly to the music. I could see Ashley from here. It looked like they were hitting it off pretty well. Suddenly I saw what looked like a man dressed all in black with a white half mask run through the couples. I squinted my eyes trying to decide if I should believe what I saw. My partner twirled me in the opposite direction and I saw a guy dressed all in red with a plumed hat and a morbid skulls mask. I shuddered.

"Are you alright?" My partner looked down at me with genuine concern through the eyes of his mask.

"Ya, I'm fine. Just a little tired I guess." Like a true gentleman he escorted me off the dance floor and had me sit down at one of the tables that had been set up at the side. Each one was covered by a red table cloth and had a black heart candle for a center piece. I sipped a glass of water and closed my eyes trying to make sense of it. I must have been going crazy, but this is what I got for being so obsessed. I felt my dance partners hand on mine and I raised my head to look at him.

"Are you sure your ok?"

"I'll be fine" I said to reassure him as much as myself. I looked passed him and saw the figure all in red with the skull mask. _Why so silent_? The voice seemed to be in my left ear_. Did you think I had left you for good_? I shut my eyes tight and when I opened them he was gone. The rest of the evening went smoothly. After a while the music got wilder and my partner and I decided to go outside for some air. Other couples loitered around the doors to the entrance so we wandered around to the back of the building. The stars were out by know and the moon shone down us with clear white light.

" I can't wait till midnight so I can finally call you by your name." he said looking down at me. His eyes were crystal blue and the moonlight was kind to them making them shine even brighter. "Why wait? We can cheat a little." I did a fake curtsy an introduced my self. "My name is Ember." He laughed and decided to play along. "Michael." he reached down to press my hand to his lips.

"Pleased to meet you Michael."

"The pleasure is all mine." He smiled and leaned down a little to plant a kiss on my cheek. Slowly he moved to kiss me on the mouth. _Such a little thing really, a kiss... most people don't give it a moment's consideration_...The voice was in my head again, soft and musical. I gasped at the sound of it and backed away from Michael.

"Is something wrong?" He looked hurt.

"No nothing. ..I mean yes... I don't feel so good. I have to go. I'm sorry..." I turned to leave but he caught me by the arm. "At least tell me how I can get a hold of you." I gave him my phone number hurriedly hoping he could commit it to memory and ran off to find Ashley.

I found her sitting inside with her young gentlemen enjoying herself immensely. I hated to do this to her. "Come on Ash, we have to go."

"Go? Why? It's not even eleven yet."

"I know, I'm sorry. I'm not feeling to good."

Ashley got up with a sigh, not before giving her number to the young gentleman along with her name. I was her ride after all, and then of course there was general friendly concern to think about.

I was already halfway to the car and Ashley ran to catch up. "What's the matter." I struggled to unlock the car door, his voice still echoing in my head. "I don't know. You'd just think I was crazy any way."

When I arrived home that night I went straight to my room without offering any kind of explanation to Ashley. I just couldn't handle it in there. I flopped down on my bed without bothering to change out of my costume. Alright I knew I was going crazy now. People just don't see fictional characters masquerading around at masquerades. There was no way that could have been real. Maybe somebody had dressed in a Phantom costume, but then where did that voice come from?

I buried my face in my pillow and let out a sound of frustration. It was all too complicated. Just then I heard a child laughing and the sound of hoof on stone. I raised my head just a little. It was probably just the TV.

"Ash! Turn that down!"

I laid my head on my crossed arm in front of me. A flash of light came from behind me like a flash on a camera and I turned around to see what it was. In the mirror was a scene of nineteenth century Paris come to life. The ladies with their bustles and parasols leaning over their shoulders arm in arm with their sweethearts. Men in evening dress probably on their way to the opera or the many other forms of entertainment that Paris had to offer. Horses clopped down the road pulling fancy carriages with very important passengers.

I got up from the bed to stare in fascination. They seemed oblivious to my presence and I stared at them freely. I raised my hand cautiously up to the mirror. As soon as I touched it the invisible barrier that separated the two worlds collapsed and I was suddenly being pulled into the Parisian street. I turned around and grabbed a hold of my bed post for dear life. I heard the sound of my door opening and I knew it could only be Ashley.

"What did you say Ember?"

Ashley entered my room with green goop all over her face. She had cucumbers over her eyes in the usual diva fashion. Her hands were bent at the wrist, fingers spread out in the "nail polish still wet do not touch or I'll kill you" way.

"Ashley no! Don't-"Before I could finish Ashley was being pulled into the mirror arms flailing in an effort to grab a hold of something, careful not to smudge the polish. She screamed as the cucumbers fell off of her eyes and she saw what was going on.

"EMBER!"

I sighed and let go of the bed post. I couldn't let Ashley go in there alone.


	4. Ouch! That's going to leave a mark

A little note. For anyone who was attempting to read this story before, it may have been a little hard to follow because this chapter was MISSING! I made the mistake of mentioning the name of an author and a book that should never everbe mentioned on FFN. I apologize. I had written this chapter long before I joined FFN and had forgotten that the reference was in there. It wasn't really a big part of my story so I've taken the refernce out an reposted the chapter. Hopefully this will clear up any confusion you might have had. Read and review please!

* * *

We landed on the street with a thud. I had landed on my back and hit my head on the hard stone road. Ashley, who had fared a lot better than I had was already sitting up looking around and asking questions.

"Alright, where the hell are we?"

I moaned as I propped myself up on my elbows to have a look around. My head hurt sorely and I wondered if I was bleeding. I looked around and noticed people had stopped what they were doing to stare at us. Small wonder, I was still dressed in my costume while Ashley was in her PJ's.

"Great." I mumbled to myself.

Ashley was shaking as a gentlemen who had finally excepted our look came to her aid, trying to help her to her feet. I got up on my own and went over to the gentleman. I was at least wearing a dress so the gentlemen took me seriously. He gave me a questioning look referring Ash.

"She's an actor." I said coming over to support Ashley as well as I could. His face lit up in recognition.

"Oh! Of course." he turned around as if to announce to the crowd we had attracted. "She's an actor!"

"Oh!" was the unanimous reply of the crowd before they accepted the excuse and went back to what they were doing.

I helped Ashley to a side alley, hopefully out of site of anyone who would look on us in question of our clothes. I set her down and she leaned her head back against the wall. "How can this be happening?" She asked, her eyes filled with fear. "Where the hell are we? Why the hell is everyone dressed like they came out of a history book...and where in the hell did you learn to speak French?"

"What?"

"That guy...when you told him I was an actor you were speaking French." She gasped and put her hand over her mouth. "And I understood what you said... I can speak French..." She looked like she was going to go into shock.

"Ashley calm down. There is probably a good explanation for all this."

She looked up at me half-crazed. "A good explanation? A good explanation! Like what? Wizards? I hardly think that qualifies...No wait it was a rip in the space time continuum." She gasped again. "It was that damned mirror your crazy grandma sent. I knew it was gonna kill us!"

I held my very sore head in my hands and sighed. I was just as confused as she was, though I didn't want to admit it. "Ash just calm down."

"Were going to die aren't we? Just like in that one book I read where these people get sucked into a portal and...die... They all end up like that you know. Oh what did I do to deserve this?"

"Alright think. What did they do in those books first."

"What you mean before they died? Well they blended in to avoid suspicion. People are afraid of what they don't know and well when they do find people different from them they well..."

"Kill them?"

"Ya."

"Alright blend in. Hmmm... We'll need clothes." I reached into my medieval style purse-pouch that I had forgotten to take off after the dance. I pulled out something like fifty dollars. Fifty Twenty first century American dollars.

"Great. I hardly think they accept money that hasn't been printed yet."

Ashley looked at me in surprise. "I can't believe you. Here we are in, in...well nowhere we are supposed to be and all you can think about is shopping?"

"It's only temporary until we can find our way back home. Come on." I grabbed Ashley's hand and pulled her back to the street where we had first landed. Across the street was a glacier shop. Mirrors stood out on display reflecting the light of the sun. The mirror it all had to be connected. Maybe we could get back now. I stood in front of the mirror that we had supposedly come out of. The glass showed nothing but my reflection. I touched the spot I had touched on my mirror. Still nothing.

"Good evening." I jumped and turned to see a kind looking women watching us with interest. She obviously worked here. "May I help you?" She didn't seem alarmed at all by our strange clothes and I found that to be a little odd.

"I'm not sure..." I said my eyes still on the mirror.

The lady smiled warmly. "Well please come in. Perhaps I can help you find what your looking for." The tone she took implied that she meant more than what she said. I followed her in dragging Ashley behind me.

The woman stood behind a counter surrounded by mirrors of all shapes and designs. She took a deep breath as if she could inhale the essence of them. "Aren't they magical!"

"Some more than others. "I said under my breath.

The lady chuckled and a curious glint came into her eye. "You know, some people believe mirrors have the power to reflect your soul."

I was starting to get a little creeped out. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you can help us after all." I turned to leave the shop.

"Pity." she said. "You'll never get home that way. I turned back on her in surprise. "How did you..."

"Surely you don't expect to go tromping around Paris wearing that! She said as she stepped back and looked us up and down. "This is the greatest city in the world for goodness sakes!"

Ashley was shaking worse than ever and I thought I might join her in a minute. Meanwhile the shopkeeper had disappeared into a back room. She came back holding two dresses flung over her arm. "Come on you can change back here." She disappeared into the back room again, waiting for us to follow.

My mouth stood open, mirroring Ashley's shocked expression. I regained my composure and started to walk to the back but Ashley stopped me. "What are you doing? You're not really going to follow her are you?"

"Do you have a better idea? Look, she knew about what happened to us. She probably knows how we can get back home."

Ashley shook her head. "It's not that easy. It's never that easy." I could only assume she was making reference to her books again.

We followed the lady to the back of the shop. Like the other room, mirrors lined the walls. Hand mirrors, dressing mirrors, vanities. As we walked in our reflections passed smoothly from one mirror to another, it was as if we were always being watched. I shuddered. In the corner a changing curtain had been set up. Ashley went first and I was left to talk to the shopkeeper and explore a little more. Table stood at random places in the room covered with multicolored tablecloths and odd objects. A child's doll lay sprawled on top of an open book. I read the title at the top of a page. Silence of the Lambs. Glass bottles stood everywhere in every shape and color, including a beer bottle that had not had the label torn off all the way. I recognized it as a Budweiser. A shelf, the only one in the small room, was lined with wine bottles. They dated from 1871 to 1997. I tried to drink in all I saw. Plainly these things did not belong together if the shopkeeper was telling the truth.

I turned to her, but she held up her hand to silence me before I could say anything. She turned her attention to dusting a collection of random figurines.

Finally Ashley came out from the changing curtain. She had washed the green gook from her face. _Good_ I thought _we would probably have had a hard time explaining to people what that green stuff was_. I couldn't imagine how she had figured out how to fasten everything. Maybe that's why she had taken so long. She wore a blue velvet dress cut, it seemed, to fit her perfectly.

I walked behind the curtain and changed into a red velvet dress with long tight sleeves that fanned out as they neared my wrists. The neckline was low, but not uncomfortably so. I came out to see that Ashley had made the same discovery I had. Perhaps she had seen the book

I came to stand in front of the shopkeeper beside Ash. She seemed about ready to give us an explanation, or so I hoped. She stopped dusting and turned to us. "The year is 1881. It is summer, soon to be fall. I suppose you've noticed the chill. "I suggest wearing a shawl," She said near to forcefully guiding us to the door. "Paris is not kind during the winter months." I opened my mouth to question but she had us in the streets before I could say anything

" No questions child, Your answer lies at the opera."

"What answer? Do you mean the other mirror?"

"No questions!". With that she left us confused and alone on the cold streets of Paris.


	5. Auditions!

The opera house wasn't hard to find. Everybody knew where it was, everybody except us. It seemed that it lay right in the middle of Paris.

As we neared the Opera my heart beat faster with mounting excitement. To think we would be standing in the very building the Phantom had stalked just months before. He was dead now of course. Every account said that he had died shortly after Christine had left. I wondered if someone could really die from a broken heart. Perhaps they could in this age before modern technology and scientific logic had ruled out broken hearts as a cause of death.

We entered the building with no problems. I supposed our clothes made us look like members of the upper class. Patrons, perhaps. All we had to do know was find the mirror.

Ashley looked around with awe. "It's so big..."

She had a point. "That damned mirror could be anywhere."

An older woman chose the wrong time to pass by and caught my words. She gave me a look. "Such language." She passed on hurriedly not wanting to be in the company of such uncouth people.

"I better watch what I say from now on." I said thoughtfully. It wouldn't do to have people thinking badly of us.

"Hopefully we won't be around long enough to think about it." Ashley said looking around and trying to think of where to search first. Just then a lady dressed all in black came down the staircase. She smiled at us as though she knew us.

"Ah, there you are. I've been expecting you." she looked us up and down. "Yes, exactly as she described to me. I'm so glad you have decided to join our little family here at the Opera. From what I've heard you two are the best."

"The best?" I asked a little confused.

"Now, now. Don't be so modest. Your talent is known all over. I'm thrilled that we could get the best. I was so worried that some other company would snatch you before we could." she gave a little laugh. "But, I go on to much. Come let me show you to your dressing rooms."

We followed her down a long hallway with doors on either side. She unlocked the room at the very end of the corridor and escorted us in. "This room is to be yours Anne." She said referring to me. "It belonged to our former Primma Donna. She went on to marry a handsome Vicomte. Of course he won't allow her to perform anymore. Wouldn't be proper. I hope everything is to your liking?"

I stood in a daze. Married to a Vicomte? I noticed she was still waiting for an answer. "Oh, yes. Yes , of course. This will do nicely."

"Brigette your room is just next to this one." She was referring to Ashley of course. "Here is the key. I apologize but I am late for rehearsal."

"Of course, we understand." I gave her a reassuring smile as she headed for the door.

"I'll leave you here to get adjusted. I just know you'll make primma donna in no time, Anne! And you Bridgette, good luck on leader of the row! I'll see you at auditions tomorrow." She left and closed the door behind her.

Me and Ash looked at each other. "Auditions?" We said together.

"We have to get out of here before they figure out what's going on. They'll throw us out if they know we lied about who we are." Ash sat down in an arm chair looking very exhausted.

"Yes but at least we will have access to the whole opera house now. The mirror shouldn't be too hard to find. If only we could pull it off..."

Ashley sat up straight all of a sudden. "Oh, no you don't. We are not pulling anything off. There is no way you could pass for primma donna and I certainly don't know the first thing about dancing."

"...And before we came here neither of us could speak French. You could learn to dance."

"And what about you?"

"I can sing. I've sung before."

"Ya, masquerade in the shower."

"Don't be so negative. This could work. Besides, don't you want to have an adventure like that creepy lady at the mirror store said? She's right, not many people have a chance like this."

Ashley thought for a minute, looking over the room. Her eyes landed on the tall mirror that dominated the decor of the room. "Alright, but just until we find that mirror."

"Fine."

Meanwhile somewhere across the channel… 

"WHAT! What do you mean the ship has been delayed? For how long?" The real Ann shouted.

"Indefinatly"

"But, we have to be in Paris within the week. We have auditions."

"I'm sorry madam," said woman who looked suspiciously like the woman from the mirror shop "but there is nothing I can do."

"But why?" Piped in the real Bridgette.

"Inclimate weather."

Bridgette and Ann both looked out the window. The sun was shining pleasently over calm waters. Birds flew overhead while children played happily on the beach.

"Candy?" the woman said as she offered up a bowl of skittles.

Since our guide had mistaken us for people who already had assigned talents we had to come up with a way to look like we actually had those talents. No easy task when you realize that Ashley was more of a professional singer than I was, and as I watched Ashley topple over for the third time after trying a simple step, I realized Ashley's forte wasn't dancing either. I had been the dancer in our little family up till now. Aside from, a few lessons when I was younger I hadn't been professionally trained, but I had seen Center Stage, I had imitated the moves on our living room floor in front of our TV set. I was convinced that I could have fooled the judges at auditions here if I had had to. I knew I had the will power if nothing else, don't tell anyone, but I had always secretly wanted to be a ballerina. Not the whole pink tutu thing, but the graceful movements, calculated steps and romance of it all intrigued me.

After a while of falling down, Ashley and I decided that we needed to do something simpler than what we had been attempting to pull off. I made her memorize a series of dance steps that I knew. It was more of a warm up really but it looked good. I was counting on the fact that the technique that I had been taught was more than a hundred years ahead of what they did here. The styles had to be different.

The next day the auditions where held on the big stage huge stage really big scary intimidating stage. The curtains had been drawn close for the auditions and I stood as close to them as I could. The plan was that Ashley would be standing behind me behind the curtains singing while I attempted to lip-synch her words. We hadn't had much time to rehearse but I was hoping for the best.

The managers, dance instructors, composer and tutors sat in the front row staring up at me. I was afraid for a moment that they would be close enough to see through our little trick, but as I opened my mouth and tapped the curtain to signal Ashley they smiled appreciatively at me. Everything went well up to the last note when I jabbed the curtain and took my bow. Great I was in, no problem.

I walked down off the stage and took my seat behind the managers. Now it was Ash's turn. She walked on the stage with total confidence. She was an actor after all, and so she wasn't intimidated by the big stage like I was. As the music started she began to go through the routine we had rehearsed. I could tell that the managers where impressed. What she had forgotten she improvised and I tried to send her signals from where I was sitting though I doubt she could see them with the bright stage lights shining in her eyes.

When the music had stopped she stood grinning on the stage. She seemed right at home here as if this was what she had been born to do. I was sure I would have no problem convincing her to stay now. I was wrong.

"What do you mean you want to stay?"

I looked at Ashley as I tried to unlock my dressing room door. "Oh, come on Ash you can't tell me you didn't enjoy yourself up there."

"Maybe but that's no reason to stay stranded so far from home. I miss it. I miss Jessie and all the fun we had. I miss my house. I want to go home!"

It looked like and old fashioned case of home sickness and while I pitied Ashley I just couldn't see things like she did. I liked it here, but then I had never really felt like I had belonged back home.

After another exhausting search I flopped down into a comfy leather armchair while Ashley helped herself to its companion. I made a sound of frustration before attempting to turn my head to face Ashley. "Are sure you wouldn't rather stay here for a while? It would be a lot easier than trying to find that damn mirror." Ashley gave me a look and I sighed. "Fine we'll start searching again first thing tomorrow." I closed my eyes and leaned my head back in the chair again. Now ash was just being plain difficult.


	6. Hey I think we found itmaybe not

I'm not sure whether I want to finish this story or not, so please read and review. You guys are what keep me going Sniff sniff tear Just five reviews...thats all I ask..I wonder if Five people have evern read this story. Anyway...happy reading.

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The next day we continued our search under the excuse that we wanted to see more of the famous opera house. No one questioned us, after all we were then new stars. The opera was full of mirrors of all shapes and sizes but none of them were the one we were looking for.

Ashley was getting more and more impatient and to tell the truth so was I. I think I was more impatient to be rid of Ashley's constant whining than anything, though. We were growing more irritable towards each other by the minute. Meanwhile we kept up the pretense of ill health to keep us from going to rehearsals. Still no one cared. Where we really supposed to be that good?

We entered my room after another long day of searching and flopped down on the first pieces of furniture we could find. Thank God that table had not been closer to the door, it would have made a fine fainting couch. I looked over to Ashley and I knew the worst part of it wall was that our godforsaken search would continue the next day. I sighed. Ashley had already fallen asleep in a chair and I think I was going to join her in a few minutes. I looked around my dressing room. It really was nice and to think Christine Daae had once slept here.

I frowned. I was beginning to disbelieve the whole phantom story. No one had mentioned him since we had come and there was no sign of any of the characters: Madame Giry, Meg, the managers, Christine. They were all gone. I sighed and turned in my chair to find a more comfortable position.

I had only half believed anyway. It wasn't so bad knowing that Leroux's book was completely fictional. It just proved that he had had a vivid imagination.

I found myself facing the mirror now. The mirror reflection the décor of my room under the eerie light of the single candle in my room. I squinted my eyes a little. I thought I could just make out the outline of something in the mirror. Probably just my tired mind playing tricks on me, except that the outline looked like the outline of my bed. My bed! My eyes shot wide open and I stumbled over to Ashley's chair.

"Ashley! Ashley wake up!" I shook her and I think she cussed at me before rolling over and falling back to sleep. I growled and shook her again. "Ashley wake up! It's here, we could be home tonight."

That woke her up and she ran to the mirror. "After all that searching the damn thing was right here all along? I grabbed a candle so that I could see the mirror better. The intricate metal vines reminded me of the vines and birds on my own mirror. My fingers roamed over the surface of the mirror trying to recreate the actions I thought had triggered my mirror. I traced the vines and leaves as Ashley hovered right beside me. "What's the hold up? Shouldn't we be home by now?"

"Shhh." Something gave way beneath my fingers and I thought I had broken off a piece of the mirror when suddenly the mirror turned on its pivot like a morbid revolving door and left us standing in a cold dark passage. I gasped as I realized where we were.

I raised my candle over my head and peered down a long stone passage. I was amazed. To think they really existed...to think_ he _really existed. Ashley however, did not share in my overwhelming joy.

"Where the hell are we. Oh god..."She grabbed my arm franticly. "Ember look, the mirror we're on the other side. Come on help me, just run and ram it with you shoulder, bam we'll be back in the good 'ol opera house in no time."

I released myself somehow from her death grip and shook my head. "Fine I'll do it by myself." And to my great amazement she started ramming the mirror from its backside. I sighed and looked around some more.

The mirror would not break so easily, I was sure Erik had made sure of that. I turned around to see Ashley out of breath at the base of the mirror. I could hear the sound of her French porcelain nails as she tried to claw her way to the other side. I reached down to pick her up. "Come on Ash." This was just too good an opportunity to miss.

Half an hour, and many wrong turns later. We reached the lake. Erik's boat bobbed up and down on the water as calmly as could be. I had read to her and told Ash about the legend of the phantom enough that she knew the significance of that boat and what we had to do to proceed next. Quite calmly and with as much lady like composure as she could muster she said simply...."OH HELL NO!"

I had expected this. I got into the boat anyway and looked back at Ashley. "Fine you can just stay here by yourself then."

I have never seen in my whole live, nor will I ever again, a human being move so fast as Ashley did in that moment when she got into the boat. Hell my candle almost went out!

_That was definatly a hitting offense. Fortunately Ashley was out of the room at the moment. I think she went to get some more unhealthy snacks for us, but I assure you I will get beat as soon as she reads this._

I will never forget that ride across the lake. I imagined that Erik had sat where I was sitting now, and shivers ran up and down my spine. The water seemed pitch black as it slapped lovingly against the sides of the boat. It seemed as if it was welcoming back a long-lost friend. And above it all was Erik's false sky with a thousand twinkling stars. It was magical in a world where nothing was anymore. I loved it, and had that boat ride never ended, I don't think I would have been too disappointed.

Ashley on the other hand...well...if I didn't know her so well I would have thought she was seasick. She ignored the beauty around her and kept looking back over her shoulder as if she regretted the impulse decision to jump into the boat.

Finally I felt the transition in the motion of the boat from softly rocking to dead stop as we reached the opposite side of the shore. I rushed eagerly out of the boat to inspect the shoreline. Not to far away were the remains of what used to be a secret door. It looked as though it had been busted through, knocked off its hinges and then placed back into place leaning against the sides of the walls. This was it. I had to wonder would anything have survived. Would anything still be there. Surely...the Persian would have taken care of the body... I shuddered to think. Poor Erik.

"Wonder what we'll find. Gonna be pretty neat huh ash? Ash?...Ashley...?"

I looked over my shoulder only to find that Ashley was not following behind me as I had thought, but still sat cold and shivering in the boat.

I sighed and went back. Things went rather well if I do say so myself. It only took half an hour of coaxing, literally, and Ash was following me into the abandoned lair.

I could just make out the remains of surviving furniture. The Persian rugs where gone, probably stolen, but the couch and armchair remained. I figured they were probably too big to bother with. A table and some other odds and ends of furniture stood around the room and in the corner was the great pipe organ. The center piece of the room if you will. I had to go in for a closer look of course. The keys where polished ivory and the wood had been painted black and glossed over. I remember thinking it must have been expensive. Sheet music stood on the stand as if someone had been playing, but then the sheets where dusty and looked fragile so I knew it couldn't be so. On either side of the organ candelabras stood strategically to illuminate the music when lit. The candles where still there just as he had left them that day...

"Well I guess this isn't so bad." Ash said behind me, testing a table for dust with her fingers before wrinkling her nose in disgust. "It is a fixer-upper though."

Something caught my attention and I took a closer look at the candles, but it was hard to see in the dim candlelight. I squinted as Ash continued.

"Ugh...look at all this dust."

There was smoke rising in telltale spirals from several of the candles.

"Still, it is pretty nice. Oh, look at the-"

"Shhh..."

I was trying to concentrate. Listening for any sounds. "Maybe you where right Ash, this was a bad Idea. Let's go."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that, mademoiselle." A man's voice spoke and grabbed me from behind. I heard Ash scream just before my candle was blown out, and knocked to the ground. I could feel a length of rope being tied around my wrists, and before I could regain my senses enough to speak sensible words, I was gagged and placed in the chair in front of the fireplace. I heard the strike of a match and then the light of a single candle illuminated the room. Ashley had fainted dead away and lay in a heap on the floor.


	7. Tea?

First of all I would just like to apologize to everyone for being MIA for the last two months. I had gotten a job at Chuck E Cheese's ( I was desperate and I needed money, it's not something I'm proud of) I finally got sick of it and rebelled against my rodent overlord and so here I am, happily unemployed and free to update my stories to my hearts content. I WILL NOT ABANDON MY STORIES! They will be finished one day... Please read and review! Huggles!

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You may be wondering what it would be like to actually meet Erik. At any time before that exact moment I would have thought it would be the most pleasant experience of my life. Our eyes would lock and right away all the sympathy I felt for his tragic story would be conveyed. We would instantly understand each other and strike up a pleasant conversation, perhaps over a pleasant cup of tea.

As it was, I was completely, utterly, and in all ways terrified. From where I was sitting (bound and helpless I might add) He towered over me, glaring down on me with cold, suspicious eyes. In his presence the air became a little heavier, the shadows a little longer, the darkness a little deeper.

I found myself suddenly recalling tales of his time in Persia, of all the deaths he was responsible for. Still, if they stories were to be believed he had never killed a women, but there was a first time for everything and it was really hard to convince yourself that your not about to die when your tied up and gagged in the presence of a killer. And then of course, there was the fact that Ashley and I had just become the only two people in the world who knew the opera ghost was still alive.

As soon as he had done with me, Erik carefully picked up the unconscious Ashley and lay her gently on the couch. He left and returned with some smelling salts, a bowl of water and a small towel. Whatever else he was he had always remained a gentleman. Ash's eyes fluttered open as he waved the vial in front of her nose. He knelt by the couch sideways I noticed never exposing the masked side of his face to her. He wet the towel as she watched and wiped her forehead. "Are you well?"

"I think so, I...just remember a guy…coming from nowhere and-" Ash's eyes grew wide

"Oh…my..."I guess she realized who he was. "Your him. Where's Ember." She asked sitting up and looking around for me.

"mmmmhh ober ereeee." I said or tried to say.

I think she gasped. She looked at Erik and hit him on the shoulder. "Untie her!" She sounded like a mother scolding her child. He slowly got up to obey, carefully untying my ropes from my wrists but leaving the gag for me to deal with myself.

Ashley was off the couch in a moment "What's the big idea, tying her up like that? What's wrong with you?"

My eyes opened wide in shock. You couldn't speak like that to the Phantom…could you? I struggled to untie the handkerchief that still gagged me. "Ahh ohhh onn't. uuut uuub!"

But Ashley either could not understand me or chose to ignore my warning. She stood directly in front of Erik and poked him in the chest. "Just wait until I get back up there. I'll have you arrested for aggravated assault. You jerk!"

If it was possible my eyes opened even wider in shock.

Erik was apparently growing tired of this game. He grabbed Ashley by the wrist and forced her to sit down. He remained silent, apparently considering his options on how to deal with, or dispose of us. Either way I was sure it would not be pleasant for us.

With a final desperate tug, I managed to untie the handkerchief and said the first thing that popped into my head. "Erik, I-"

Erik spun around, his attention fully on me now. Sufficient to say it is not wise to address the phantom as if you know him when he has no clue who you are, why or how you got into his lair, and what you are doing there anyway. "Oops…" I don't know what I had meant to say. I managed to gather enough courage to look at his face but I couldn't tell if he was angry, confused, or in shock.

"So. You know who I am." Suddenly I glimpsed the Punjab lasso in his hand.

"Ahhhh!" I raised my hand to the level of my eyes.

Ash looked at me strangely "What the hell are you doing?"

My fingers shook as I pointed with my free hand. "The Punjab lasso! Ash, put your hand up like this and keep it there."

"Huh?" she looked to where I was pointing, "A piece of string? You're going to kill us with a piece of string?" She blinked once, and then began to laugh. "String!" more laughter "Oh, its too much." There were tears rolling down her checks. Her laughter died down and just when I thought she would stop she started up again.

I looked at Erik. He was not pleased. The visible part of his face had a red tint to it and his hands were balled up in fists at his side. One of which, I noted, still clutched the lasso.

"Shut up Ash."

"No, It's okay Ember. Don't worry. I think I have a paper clip in my pocket. We'll fight our way out! HA!" And to my horror Ash actually pulled a paper clip out of her pocket, unfolded it, and pointed it at Erik. "En garde!"

It became hard to breathe. I was getting a little lightheaded and somewhat dizzy. Erik looked pretty angry, with all his attention now focused on Ashley, he gripped his lasso tightly. Perhaps he had meant to kill her, and personally I think he had, but I guess we'll never know. Darkness swam over my vision and I fell to the floor. This time it was my turn to faint.

When I came to a moment later, I found myself face to face with Erik, literally. He had placed the smelling salts under my nose and the combination of the horrible scent and my last memory before fainting made me jump in surprise so that I bumped foreheads with Erik, who had been checking the cold compress that had been placed on my head. "Ow."

I said, rubbing my head. My eyes opened wide as I recalled fully where I was. "Please don't kill us! We thought you were dead! In the book you're dead by now We just want to go home! There was this mirror, with the birds and the grapes and this crazy lady at the shop and she's all like 'your answer lies at the opera house' so we go and she's Anne and I'm Bridgett or Am I Anne? But not really I'm Ember…"

"Calm down, Skitzo." I saw Ash lounging in a chair sipping on a cup of tea. " I already told him what happened and I used complete sentences to do it, too."

I sat up. "And he believed you?" Just then I realized Erik knelt on the floor in front of me. "And you believed her?"

"I have to admit I was a bit skeptical, but it does explain how you knew my name, and about the mirror. There was only one other person besides my self who knew that route."

"It's a good thing you fainted, so I could set things straight."

"Ash, fainting is never a good thing, ever. Ugh…I feel so turn of the century repressed woman. Honestly no one faints anymore. It must be this corset."

I had to admit I was a little jealous that Ash had been the one to fulfill my fantasy of having a chat with Erik over tea. I watched as he stood and began to put away the bowl of water and the smelling salts. I was still having trouble believing he was real. Really real.

"Pop your eyes back into your head." Ash said before taking another sip of tea. I must have been staring.

"So um…what now?"

"What do you mean 'what now?' Now, we are going to march straight back up to the public side of this Opera house and keep looking for the mirror."

I stood up and walked over to the chair Ash was sitting in. I wasn't sure how good Erik's hearing was. "You don't think he'll have a problem with that?"

"Who, Erik?"

So they were on a first name basis. How long was I out, I wondered.

"Why would he?"

"We'll there is the whole fact that he is a wanted man, and we are the only one's who know he is still alive and where to find him."

Ash waived her hand dismissivly and smiled. "Oh, that. It's okay I simply explained to him that we are only going to be here long enough to find that stupid mirror and then we are leaving and that you were madly in love with him and so there was no way you would turn him in."

"YOU TOLD HIM WHAT! What did he say?"

"I was quite flattered actually."

"Ahhh!" I jumped about ten feet into the air. Somehow during the course of our conversation Erik had sneaked up on us and stood quite close behind me. I ran to stand behind Ash who was still sipping at her tea as if this wasn't the first time she had been invited to take tea with a certain infamous Phantom.

As for Erik, he gently placed a saucer and cup of tea for me on the table next to Ash before sitting down on a couch opposite us. He considered us for a moment before speaking. "There are a few things, of course, which I would like to discuss and clarify."


	8. um

Thanks to all who reviewed. Sorry it's been so long between updates, I've been busy, mostly with my other story, Masks, which you should read by the way. hint, hint

Read and review please!

Erik agreed that Ashley and I could continue searching for the mirror, provided that we leave as soon as we found it. In the meantime though, we would have to keep up appearances and that meant lots and lots of practice for both Ash and me.

Two days later…

"Well, how was that?" Ash asked as she finished a series of dance steps.

"What? Oh ya, great…" I answered absently.

"Alright what's wrong?" She said, taking a break from her dance session and coming to sit opposite of me.

"Nothing." I said, with a slight pout.

Ashley gave me a concerned look. "Is this about the tea thing again?"

I didn't answer.

"Honestly, Ember. You're just going to have to get over that."

"Humph!"

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. "Ladies! Don't forget, rehearsals start today! Five minutes!"

I placed my head in my hands in despair. "Oh crap…Oh crap…"

Ashley didn't say anything, but I could tell she felt the same way.

"Well, I guess we have to go out there and at least give it a try. I think people are starting to get suspicious."

Five minutes later we were standing very uncomfortably in front of the entire opera company. Madame Giry was just finishing a rather long and impressive speech. Apparently Ashley and I were about to be presented to the company. I had never been 'presented' before. I guess I should have felt honored, and maybe I did. Nope, that queasy feeling in my stomach definitely was not honor.

"…And with that I would like to present our newest stars, Bridgett and Ann."

There was some scattered clapping and someone coughed. I smiled stupidly and gave a shy little wave. Ashley however, was not about to waste this opportunity.

"Thank you Madame!" She said, practically pushing Madame Giry out of the way and stepping right into the limelight. "And may I just say that we are deeply honored to be here and we look forward to meeting and working with all of you. Thank you!"

There was more applause, this time slightly more enthusiastic.

We were granted some time to mingle with the rest of the company before rehearsal would actually begin.

I met several of the dancers, including Meg Giry, and also some singers, including the handsomest baritone I had ever seen.

He came strutting across the stage like he owned it, and sometime later when we heard him sing we found out that he practically did. He had beautiful blond hair, deep blue eyes, and a beautiful smile.

"Good evening ladies. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Pierre."

Just then, Madame Giry clapped her hands signaling rehearsals to start. We sat down in our chairs waiting to be called on. Meg passed out copies of the script, while Madame Giry assigned parts to the cast.

Meg handed me a script and I started thumbing through it. "No…way… you can't be serious." I whispered to Ash. "That's messed up, how are we suddenly going to have the ability to speak French and not be able to read it?"

"Hey, I can pick out a few words. Oui, non, uh…." She flipped through the script searching for more words she knew.

"Oh great, so I'm gonna have to sing an entire opera with 'yes' and 'no?' Is that what you're telling me?"

Finally Madame Giry came to me, "Anne you will be playing to part of Marie."

"Marie…hmmm…" I flipped through the script. "Oh…my…gosh…" Madame Giry had just assigned me the leading role. I think I almost fainted again.

Finally Madame Giry came to the end of her list. "Well, ladies and gentlemen those are your parts, learn to love them. Any questions? No? Good. Read over your scripts I want the first five pages memorized by next time. Well that will do it for today you're dismissed." The cast members immediately started talking to each other comparing parts and making plans that night for celebration.

"Oh great, now we have French homework." Ashley said with a sigh.

Just then, Pierre came over. "Pardon me, but me and a few members of the cast are going out for dinner to celebrate. You must allow me to treat you. It is the most charming little bistro. You're sure to love it."

We had a lot of work to do if we were going to get the first five pages of the script translated by the next rehearsal.

"I'm sorry Pierre, but I don't think we…wait a minute did you say treat?"

He give a charming little laugh, "Indeed I did, mademoiselle."

Ashley smiled and saved the day. "We would, love to accompany you monsieur." With that, she offered her elbow, which he took, and headed toward the door.


End file.
